Tom Brady’s conflict of interest will take center stage during Commanders Vs. Lions

There’s no doubt that Tom Brady’s dual role as minority owner of the Raiders and broadcaster for Fox creates a conflict of interest. And that conflict of interest is heightened by the fact that Brady is not just a passive owner of capital; like Las Vegas Review-Journal recently announced, the Raiders are “Tom’s show now.”

Throw in the fact that he is looking for a new coach, and that takes things up another notch.

It moves to an even higher level on Saturday night, when Brady works on the man who is believed in league circles to be his top target for the next Raiders offensive coordinator coach: Lions Ben Johnson.

In post-standard America, many will not be inclined to do so. That’s their prerogative — assuming they even know about it.

People in the media who might be inclined to downplay or ignore the conflict benefit from learning about it. When more than 40 million tune in to the Saturday night game Brady will be working on, many, if not most, will likely not know that Brady is not a neutral observer or commentator when it comes to his potential goal of sealing the Johnson deal before long. after the season ended in Detroit.

Fox has an obligation to inform the vast audience that Brady is not an indifferent and neutral commentator. Before kickoff, it should be revealed to the crowd that Brady owns the Raiders, is actively involved in the team’s ongoing coaching search and interviewed Johnson and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn for the vacancy last week.

The audience needs to know about the Raiders’ interest in Johnson and Glenn so that Brady’s comments regarding the performance of Detroit’s offense and defense can be evaluated through that lens. If/when he over-praises Johnson and/or Glenn—or if/when Brady fails to adequately criticize them—the audience can consider his potential interest in hiring either of them while absorbing his words.

This is where Brady will have a conflict of interest. As he processes the play that happened and extemporaneously formulates a 20-second evaluation of it (at most), he will be caught between his duty to provide the Fox audience with his honest, sincere, and authentic opinions and his separate interest in not saying anything that will potentially complicate his effort. to hire some guy — and/or to say something that might help his cause.

If Brady seems to be making excuses for Johnson or Glenn if/when things go bad or cheering them excessively if/when things go well, the audience will be able to scrutinize his words with full knowledge of his circumstances.

Apparently, the NFL and its teams decided that Brady should be allowed to hold both positions, even if the restrictions placed on his pregame activities (no attendance at practice, no participation in production meetings, no access to team facilities) confirm the existence of a conflict. And, yes, at some point other owners may decide that Brady’s unique ability to have his finger on the pulse of an ever-evolving league by calling 20 or more games a year outweighs their desire to have a “cool friend.”

And, yes, business is full of conflicts of interest that most are unaware of. Some broadcasters (including reporters) are represented by agencies that represent players and coaches. Some journalists support the clients of their agency sources to maintain the free flow of information.

This is a problem, especially when few people know about it. In this case, the media knows about Brady’s conflict.

As a result, Fox’s entire Commanders-Lions audience must know that Brady’s words while doing his job for Fox could be shaped by his interests as the owner of the Raiders. Fox has a clear duty to disclose this to anyone who tuned in to watch the game, as those who only occasionally follow the NFL may have no idea of ​​his growing role with the Raiders.

Fox knows that. The question is whether Fox is willing to do that. Especially if Fox executives think so Mr. Brady will have problems with it.